Justice Found
by LetsGiveThisOneMoreShot
Summary: **Sequel to Searching For Justice** About a year and a half had gone by since Colby and Bridgette had reconnected. A lot has changed in Bridgette's life in that time. They are trying to hold onto their past while moving forward. Which sometimes is more of a challenge than they anticipated. Rating just in case.
1. Chapter 1

**Well I didn't originally plan on writing any more to my first story, but then this came to me one day and I started with it. To anyone who read the first one and wanted an update, I hope it's what you were hoping for! To any new readers, I hope you enjoy! **

About a year and a half had gone by since Colby and Bridgette had reconnected. During that time Bridgette had branched out and gotten a job in Chicago. She wasn't as high up at this company as she was her last job, but there were also a lot more than six people working there. She was enjoying the change of scenery and the change of pace. Everything was much more fast paced and active. She even met someone while out and about one day and was not in a relationship. It was as if getting back in touch with Colby let her release herself from the past and finally move on. Deep down she was the same person, but just about everything else in her life was different.

Colby and Bridgette had stayed in touch just as they said they would, slowly trying to rebuild what they once had. They talked frequently, gotten together when Colby was home and Bridgette still loved in Iowa. She had spent time around his friends if they were in town, he would get together with hers, not that she had as many as he did. She still was keeping to herself. But with his schedule and her new life, they weren't able to talk as much as they had been. It hadn't really put a strain on their friendship. As long as Colby knew that she wasn't leaving him again, he was fine.


	2. Chapter 2

Bridgette had just gotten home from work when her cell phone rang.

"Hello." She answered as she walked into her kitchen.

"Hey stranger." Colby's voice rang on the other line.

"Hey you." She said with a smile.

"I was beginning to think you forgot how to answer the phone."

"Ha ha. Funny. So what's going on?" She asked as she filled a pot of water to put on the stove.

"Not much. Same old really. How about you?"

"Just got in and getting dinner started."

"You cook now? What'd you do, lose the take out menu?"

"Yes Cole, I do cook now. But only for people who are nice to me." She said as she leaned against the counter.

"Ah. I see. How's that been going?"

"Good. It's a little weird to live with someone after living alone for so long. It's taken me a while to get used to it."

"I can not sympathize with that. I spend all week in cars with other people, hotels with other people, planes with other people. When I'm finally alone it's the most beautiful thing in the world."

"You still don't have a girlfriend d you?"

He laughed. "Is it that obvious? I date. There are people I don't mind sharing my time with temporarily." She sighed. "What? I like my alone time."

"Whatever you say." She said as she added some pasta to the boiling water.

"I'm really looking forward to next week Just me, myself, and I."

"What do you mean?"

"I have next week off so I'm going to retire to my fortress of solitude."

"How'd you pull that off?" Bridgette asked as she was taking the ingredients for a salad out of the fridge.

"They did this spot where Drew took my knee out and in order to make it look better they're keeping me off television next week saying I'm at the doctors and not medically cleared and all that stuff. So I talked them into letting me use some time vacation time and get away for a little."

"That sounds nice. I happened to catch a replay of that. It looked pretty bad. But since you hadn't gotten in touch with me by the time I had seen it I figured you were alright."

"Yeah all is good. When did you see it?"

"I wasn't able to catch it live so I watched some stuff the next day on my lunch break."

"Aw. you still watch me." He teased.

"Sometimes I miss your face." She admitted.

"Well at least you get to see my face."

"Want me to send you a picture? Then you can keep it in your wallet and have it always."

Colby laughed. "N thanks. I still have some of you on my phone."

"Because that doesn't sound creepy at all."

He laughed again. "Well I am your stalker, aren't I?"

Bridgette smiled. "Yeah, I guess so. Hey, I hate to cut this short but I have to finish getting dinner ready.

"Alright. Better short than nothing."

"If i don't talk to you before you leave, have fun on your time off!"

"Thanks Bridge."

"Bye Cole."

"I'm not going." Her boyfriend proclaimed over dinner.

"Why not? She would love to meet you." Bridgette asked.

"Because I'm not taking a week off of work to spend it with a bunch of old people in the hell that is Florida."

"No one said it had to be a week, but fine. I'm still going tough." She stated as she got up from the table.

"Suit yourself." He said as he continued to eat.

Bridgette was really hoping that Mike could change his mind and go with her, at least for a day or two. She was going to see her mother for her sixtieth birthday, and to spend time with her grandmother who was getting up there in age herself. It had been a long time since she dated anyone and she really wanted them to meet Mike, but the next morning at the airport, he dropped her off as he planned and went back home. She was really annoyed at him for it, but after a few minutes of thinking about it he decided she wasn't going to let him ruin her whole time. So from here on in she was just going to be thinking about the warmer weather and time with her family.

When the plane landed she patiently waited her turn to get off of the plane, despite all of the people pushing in every direction in a very small space. She also patiently waited around all of the loud people yelling across the room at baggage claim. Though she was trying to remain calm, by the time she got in line for the rental car desk she was starting to lose it. The man behind her who ran her foot over with his suitcase several times was making her lose whatever patience she might have had left. And she was still several families back in the line. None of them seemed to understand personal space, and none of the children wanted to sit still after being on a place for several hours. She tried to drown them all out with warm happy thoughts of sunshine and a giant bacon cheeseburger. She once again ignored the people pushing around her until someone behind her once again invaded her personal space, but this time whispered into her ear.

"Hey stranger."

He had startled her causing her to jump.

"Colby! WHat the hell are you doing here?" She asked surprised as she tried to get her heartbeat under control again.

"I told you I'm on vacation. I was just around to leave when I saw you over here." He answered. "What about you? What are you doing here?"

"I came down for my mom's birthday. Some of her friends put together a little party for her and it's been a little bit since I've gotten to see her so I thought I'd visit." She told him.

"That's nice. You didn't mention that the other day."

"It;'s not something I thought you'd really be interested in. You never told me you were going to be in Florida on your time off!"

"You didn't ask." He said with a smile. He looked around her. "You here alone?"

"Yeah, Mike couldn't make it." She answered. It wasn't a total lie. She just didn't tell him the reason Mike couldn't make it was because he didn't want to.

"Well them, you wanna go? I got my car already." He said holding up a key. "I can give you a ride."

"Are you sure? I don't want to mess up your vacation." She asked him. He just dropped his shoulders and shot her a glare and she quickly got the hint. "Okay , let's go."

She was really happy that she didn't have to wait in that line anymore and go through the whole rental process. As soon as she stepped out of the airport and the warm breeze hit her face she felt her stress melt away

"My mom and grandma had the right idea." She said as she looked around and saw the palm trees across the highway.

Colby chuckled as he put their suitcases in the trunk of the car and watched her. "Yeah it's nice. But eventually I'd miss the snow."

"You're crazy." She told him then got into the car.

He joined her in the car. "So where to?"

She pulled out her phone and found the hotel she was staying at. "Here's the address to my hotel." She said as she showed him.

"Alright, cool. Do you mind if we get something to eat first? I haven't eaten since before we left for the airport? But If you have somewhere to be I can drop you off first."

"Actually I would love that. I'm starving." Bridgette answered as she brought her phone back to her.

"Then why didn't you say that?"

"Because I didn't want to cut into your time any more than I already am." She replied softly.

"Bridge, you need to stop that." He said as he turned on the car.

"What brought you down here anyway?" She asked ignoring his statement.

"I spent a lot of time down here when I was in NXT and I just really liked it. I learned the area pretty well, and it's a home away from home. I come down here once in a while to clear my head and get away from everything. No one knows about it so it's just me and sometimes, that's what you need."

"I can see why. It's beautiful." She said as they drove.

"Yeah. Gyms are great and all, but there's nothing quite like taking a run on the beach or stretching out there. During any time of the year. It's pretty great."

"I could get used to that." Allison commented.

"So, how's my little buddy?"

She laughed. "Queso is fine. He's at my co-worker's."

"Why isn't he at home with your boyfriend?"

"I thought Mike was going to be able to come with me so I made arrangements for him."

"But Mike didn't come so why didn't you just leave him home?"

"Mike's not really a cat person."

"What? How can anyone not love that sexy little beast?" Colby exclaimed.

Bridgette laughed at his explanation of her pet. "Some people just don't like cats. Some don't like flying, some don't like kids, some don't like cats."

"Some people are weird." Colby said as they pulled into the parking lot of a little mom and pop looking restaurant. "This place has the best burgers."

"It's like you can read my mind."

"So how's the job going?" Colby asked as they were eating.

"Great. It's a lot more modern than the old place. And we cover a lot more than just small local things. We cover sports, concerts, celebrity things, politics, pretty much everything. I'm liking it. How's wrestling treating you?"

"Really good. I can't complain about anything right now."

"Good to hear."

"So were you heading over to your mom's today?"

"I hadn't really planned on it. I wasn't sure how long it would take me to get to the hotel so I really just planned on getting settled in and getting something to eat and seeing where I was from there." Bridgette replied. "Took a lot less time since I didn't have to wait to rent a car."

"You want to come to the beach with me then? And before you say anything, I was already planning on going today."

"Sure, why not! I have some extra time today! And I wouldn't mind laying around on the beach for a bit. I would just end up going to my hotel and sitting in my room anyway watching TV."

"Finally! That's the spirit!" Colby explained.

They paid their bill and went back to the car. They drove another fifteen minutes or so to the condo that Colby had rented for the week. It was pretty much right on the beach. He said how he enjoyed opening the windows and hearing the waves and feeling the ocean breeze. It was nice to just be able to go pretty much out back and it be right there. He parked out and grabbed their bags out of the trunk.

"Welcome to my fortress of solitude!" He said as they walked in.

"I'm not quite sure you understand what solitude means." She joked since he brought her with him.

"Shut up. Here's your bag. I'm leaving in ten minutes."

"Yeah yeah." She said as she shuffled through her suitcase looking for the bathing suit that she had packed. "So what does the mighty Seth Rollins do at the beach?" She asked from the bathroom while she changed.

"Whatever I want. Go for a run, work out, read, chase seagulls. Depends on how I feel."

"What kind of mood are you in today?"

"I was going to go for a run, but now I feel like I should relax with you.

"Well I feel like I should offer to go on your run with you, but I really just don't want to." Bridgette said from the other side of the door causing him to laugh.

"Why don't you bring a book while I run? He suggested.

"What if I don't have a book?"

"You always have a book."

She opened the door and stood in the doorway looking at him. "You know me so well. Stop that. It's weird."

"Some things never change." He said with a smile.

He stood waiting for her in a pair of black basketball shorts with his hair tied up in a high bun. He looked at her as she stood there in a purple bikini and walked over to her suitcase to grab her towel, book, and sunglasses.

"Okay, let's go!"

They walked out of the condo and ended up making fun of each other and playfully shoved each other as they walked. Bridgette spread out her blanket on the sand not too far away from the condo. She sat down and made herself comfortable. Colby made sure she was okay before he took off for his run. When he returned she was laying down on her back with her book next to her. She had her sunglasses on and he assumed she had fallen asleep. He stood there with his hands on his hips and watched her. He was thinking about how they had unexpected run into each other. They hadn't been able to see each other in a while. And whenever they were able to talk it was short and different. Colby couldn't put his finger on it, but something just seemed off, like they were drifting apart. But today the way they were being with each other and not having a phone between them made him feel better. He was starting to worry that she was pulling away again, but today felt just like it used to.

"Why don't you just take a picture creep." She said breaking him out of his thoughts.

"I thought you fell asleep."

"Nope. Just enjoying the sun." She replied as he took his phone out of his pocket and snapped a quick picture. "What are you doing?"

"You told me to take a picture."

"Oh my God you really are a creep!" She said sitting up. He just laughed at her.

He just laughed at her. "Say cheese!"

"Cole, stop it! Delete that!"

"You're gonna have to make me." He replied, then took off running.

She got up and went after him. Unfortunately for her he was a lot faster than she was. She chased him all around the sand and eventually time started to get away from them. It was getting into the early evening hours by the time they got back to the condo and she had gotten changed.

"I guess I'd better get going to the hotel before they give my room away." Bridgette finally said.

"Yeah, that would probably be pretty important. You know you could always stay here." He offered as he was putting on a shirt.

"The hotel is right around the corner from her house. If I stayed here you would have to keep driving me back and forth and that would probably cut into your time." She replied as she was zipping up her suitcase.

"Who said I'd have to drive you around?"

"You're the one who pulled me out of the rental car line and prevented me from getting one. So I'd be your responsibility now."

"Well then, lets get your ass to the hotel so I don't have to be your babysitter." Colby joked as he picked up her suitcase to put it into the car for her.

She giggled and followed him out to the car. She pulled up the address once again and gave it to him. They drove in silence for most of the way, which wasn't too long of a drive. When they were almost there, Bridgette finally broke the silence.

"Cole."

"Hm?"

"I know you're on vacation and all but would come with me tomorrow? It's not a big fancy thing or anything. Just like a backyard bar-b-que kind of thing. I thought it would be nice if you came along. But if you already have plans I understand."

"Bridge, I would love to." He said with a smile as he looked over at her.


	3. Chapter 3

Colby picked her up the next day pretty early just as he said he would so she was able to spend the whole day with her family.

"Don't you clean up nice." She said to him as she walked out of the hotel. He was wearing a blue polo shirt and a pair of khaki shorts. "I didn't know you owned anything other than black jeans and band shirts."

"It's for your mom so I thought I'd change it up a bit." He said to her with a smile. "You don't look so bad yourself."

She had her hair up in a high pony tale and was wearing a pink and orange sundress with her white sunglasses. "Thanks! I thought this was a good look for Florida."

"Definitely is. Let's get going." He said then got back into his car.

When they got to her mom's house, they saw some paper lanterns, streamers, and balloons hung up in the backyard and the deck had some bright decorations on it as well. Some of her friends were there setting it up. The rest would arrive later with most of the food. It was going to be a bar-b-que potluck. They walked around to the back and she saw her mom right away helping put some things out.

"Mom!" She said excitedly as she ran up to her and gave her a hug. "Happy birthday!"

"Thank you! I'm so happy that you were able to make it!" She said as she hugged her back."And is this Mike?" She asked as they broke apart.

"Oh, no. Mike couldn't make it. Actually, this is Colby."

"Oh, well nice to meet you." Her mother said as she extended her hand out to him to shake it, which he did.

"No mom. It's Colby. Colby Lopez." Bridgette told her.

"Oh my, really? Little Colby? Little acted like a polite child to your face but caused trouble that he thought we didn't notice Colby?"

He chuckled. "Yes ma'am."

She let go of his hand and put her arms around him and give him a big hug instead.

"You're certainly not a scrawny little kid anymore."

"No ma'am. Not anymore."

"Are you still trying to beat people up"

"I am. I do it for a living now."

"Good for you. Followed your dream. And you still have manners. Nice to see."

"Mom, you just told him it was a positive thing that he beats people up."

"But he has manners."

Bridgette shook her head. "Where's grandma?"

"She's inside." Her mother answered.

Bridgette went inside to go and talk with her grandmother leaving Colby outside to talk with her mother. He spoke with her like nothing has changed. He talked with her about what he had been up to and what he was doing now, and he was talking to her about living down here and what she had been doing. When her friend's started showing up she introduced him as Bridgette's childhood friend and he talked with them as well. Bridgette enjoyed meeting the people that her mother was spending her time with. It made her feel a little better about them being so far apart. She was worried about her. She spent most of her time taking care of her mother and she was getting older herself. Knowing she had nice people around her that cared about her made her, and seeing how her mom smiled and laughed around their friends made her happy.

They had been there for quite sometime when Bridgette started to say goodbye to everyone that was at the party. Her grandmother was going to bed to get some rest and she was getting ready to go back to her hotel and get some rest herself.

"I'll be over tomorrow morning okay?" She said to her mother as she was on her way out.

"I look forward to it." She said with a big smile. "Colby it was great to see you again."

"You too." He said as he hugged her goodbye.

Colby and Bridgette walked around to the front of the house out to his car.

"Man I can't believe my mom is partying later than me." She said as they were driving back to the hotel.

He laughed. "Yeah. She's out partying the thirty year olds."

"I want to make a comment about being old, but that just doesn't seem right." She said as they both laughed. "Thank you for going with me."

"Of course. It was great to see your mom again ." Colby replied.

"Sorry to kind of just throw you into a bunch of strangers. I appreciate it you putting up with everything."

"No it's fine. They were actually a pretty good time." He said surprisingly. "Must be something about being retired and not having to worry about work. You just let loose."

"Yeah. I'm glad mom seems to have such good friends. I'm glad to see her happy after how unhappy she was before."

"Yeah. It looks like you both have moved on and gotten to where you want to be." Colby said to her.

"Thank you for taking a day out of your vacation."

"You're welcome. You can stop thanking me now. I had a nice time out in the sun, eating some good food. It was a vacation day. And I'm glad we got to spend more time together."

"Me too. I miss our hang out time. Even when you bring a bunch of people over unannounced."

"Come on, it was one time and I said I was sorry! Dean invited himself over, and told a bunch of other people it was a party. I sent you some money to replace the food!"

Bridgette laughed. "Well that was back when he didn't like me. Maybe now that he doesn't hate me so much he'll at least give me a heads up."

"He likes you. He might not ever tell you that, but he does." Colby told her as he pulled into the hotel's parking not and parked the car. "Trust me."

"I hope you enjoy the rest of your vacation."

"Thanks. I'll probably spend the whole day in the gym tomorrow after the last to days." He said as he patted his stomach.

"You're so stupid." She said to him with a smile.

"But you love me."

"Sometimes I wonder why." She said then got out of the car. She walked around to the drivers side and paused to talk to him through his open window. "Seriously though Cole, Thanks for everything. Not just this, but the rides, and the beach, and the the time out. I really appreciate it."

He sat there for a moment before rigidly opening his door and standing in front of her before pulling her into a tight hug.

"I know you're used to doing things on your own, but it is okay to ask for help." He said to her.

His kinds words and his arms around her really hit her right in the heart. He really meant what he said about wanting to be friends and staying in each others lives. At this exact moment, it felt just like it did when they were teenagers. It also clicked that even though they had spent a lot of time in the last two days together, this was the first time they had hugged or really had any contact other than shoving each other. She forgot how comfortable being in his arms made her feel. She wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head onto his shoulder.

Bridgette had to spend about an hour the next morning convincing her mother and grandmother that she and Colby weren't dating. Her mother kept saying how she always liked Colby and he seemed like such a good kid. She told her mother that they got back in touch after seeing each other at an event that she happened to be working at, and just took it from there. She chose to omit everything else from their conversations.

She spent the day there with them and had lunch. Just talking and catching up and spending time together. They were really just enjoying each others company. Her grandmother laid down to rest so Bridgette and her mother went on a walk around where she was living.

"I'm sorry Mike wasn't able to come. Hopefully next time." She said as they walked.

"I hope so. You know it's hard for us because grandma doesn't travel too well."

"I know. I was hoping that we could be together for the holidays, but then that means he has to leave his family and come down here and that's not really fair to them. So we'll have to see."

"We'll work something out dear." Her mother said as she put her arm around her daughter. "I was more surprised to see Colby down here with you. He told me that he was actually spending a lot of time down here a few years ago. I probably ran into him and didn't even know it. He still seems like the same good kid. He must have been very persistent to make it this far."

"You have no idea." Bridgette said.

"Come on. Let's head back home and see if mom's up. We can go out to an early dinner."

While sitting in her hotel room that night, Bridgette heard her phone buzz. She grabbed it thinking it would be Mike since she hadn't heard from him, but instead she saw a text message from Colby.

'Hey! Hope you had a good day with your mom! What are you doing tomorrow?'

'Hey It was really nice. I'm so glad I came. But I'm actually going back home tomorrow.' She replied.

'Already?'

'Yeah. I have to get back to work and Mike.'

'I guess you're not going to be able to do lunch tomorrow then, huh?'

'Sadly no. I will be on a plane by then.'

That was the last she heard from him He hadn't replied and she settled into her sweatpants and pajama shirt into bed and was watching television before falling asleep. About a half hour later she was into the movie she found on her television when her phone went off again.

'What room number are you in?'

'211. Why?' She replied back without really thinking. She was waiting for his reply when she heard a knock at her door. She opened the door to see Colby standing there holding a white plastic bag.

"I brought ice cream!" He stated holding up the bag.

He laughed. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought if you were leaving tomorrow and couldn't do lunch we could have ice cream tonight. Besides, I wanted to see you before you left." He replied.

"That depends. What kind is it?"

"Vanilla fudge swirl."

"You may enter." She said as she stepped aside.

He did remember to grab some spoons, but they didn't have a bowl. So they just sat together on the bed eating it out of the carton. Just like a teenage sleepover.

"So what are you going to do with the rest of your trip?" Bridgette asked him while they are.

"It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so that messes up all my plans except the gym which I did all day today, so I might just lay at the condo and relax. I can't remember the last time I just sat down and did nothing." He replied.

"When you were fourteen?"

"That actually may be right." Colby said with a chuckle. "So is Mike excited for you to come home?"

"I'm sure he is."

"You're sure he is? He didn't tell you?" Colby asked surprised.

"I haven't talked to him."

"When was the last time you did?"

"When he dropped me off at the airport."

"Seriously? Ou haven't talked to him since you got here? At all?"

"It's only been a few days. And he knows I've been with my mom so I'm sure he didn't want to interrupt." She stated. He just looked at her. "What? It's not like I've tried to call him either."

"It's good to know I'm not the only one you ignore."

"Shut up. I don't ignore you. You're just jealous that you're not the only busy one anymore and you miss me."

"Eh, I guess. So do you need a ride to the airport?"

"No I'm fine. I can take an Uber."

"Are you sure? I can come get you and you can save a few bucks."

"I'm sure. I don't need your charity Cole."

"I know you don't, that's why I offer. You don't take advantage of it."

He spent a little more time there talking before he got ready to leave. She was getting tired and wanted to try and get some rest before the plane ride home. She walked him over to the door and they have each other another big hug.

"Have a safe flight Bridge. I'm glad I got to see you."

"Me too Cole. Enjoy your relaxing." She said to him.

"Oh, before I forget I have a surprise for you."

"Oh yeah?" She asked as they pulled apart. "What is it?"

"You'll find out next week."

"No you can't do that! You have to tell me!"

"All I have to do is finish this ice cream and go to bed." He said with a smile.

"Come on! Don't be a jerk!"

"Nope. You're just going to have to wait."

"I don't like you." She said as she looked up at him.

"You love me."

When she arrived back at her apartment she was excited to see Mike and sit down and have a nice dinner. She was hoping that he would be just as excited to see her, but instead they ended up in an argument.

"So you had a nice time with your mom?" He asked.

"Yeah, it was really nice. I got to spend a lot of time with her and grandma." She replied with a smile

"Did you really?"

"Yeah." She said confused.

"Not sure how much time you were really able to spend with them. Looks like you spent a good amount of time with other guys." He said accusing her.

"What are you talking about?"

Mike pulled out his phone and opened the Instagram app. He showed her some pictures that Colby took over the weekend of them at the beach and at her mom's party and had tagged her in.

"He's a friend of mine. You know that. I ran into him in the airport."

"And you just decided to invite him onto your plane and bring him with you?"

"No. He was on vacation."

"At the same time you were supposed to be there. Looks like you spent a lot of time with him."

"Just what are you trying to say Mike?" Bridgette asked, putting her hands on her hips getting annoyed.

"Did you sleep with him?"

"Of course not."

"So you just went on a romantic vacation together and didn't sleep with him."

"Mike, it wasn't a romantic vacation. I went down for my mother's birthday. He was there on vacation. He saw me. He gave me a ride and came to see my mom." She explained.

"Yeah and I believe that." He scoffed.

"If I was going to Florida to cheat on you why would I invite you to come with me."

"To throw me off? You planned it at the last minute? Take your pick."

"You're unbelievable."

The argument continued for the rest of the night. Eventually she got him to believe that she didn't sleep with Colby, at least he said he believed her. But that didn't mean he was happy with the situation at all. She tried to tell him that if he had actually gone with her he could have been there and see how everything happened, which only made him angrier. Oddly enough, it made her angry as well. He decided to go out and grab a drink with some friends and get out of the apartment leaving Bridgette alone. It wasn't how she pictured her homecoming, but at the moment she was actually kind of happy.

Bridgette had gone back work and things had calmed down and hone back to normal between her and Mike. She had kept to herself the past few days, not really going out much unless it was to work. Trying to spend more time home with Mike and showing him that she wasn't doing anything behind his back.

"Hello." She answered her phone somewhat unenthusiastically.

"So am I to assume you got home safe? I haven't heard from you but I also haven't seen any missing persons reports."

"Oh, sorry Cole. As soon as I got back I was thrown back into the real world and had some things I had to take care of. What's up?"

"Are you going to be home today?" He asked.

"Probably. Why?"

"Remember when I said I had a surprise? I'm having something delivered. I wanted to make sure you'd be home for it."

"Oh really? Is it food?"

"Is it alive?"

"You made it a few days without knowing. I'm not going to spoil it now. You can wait a little while longer."

"I really dislike you."

"I'm aware."

They hung up their phones and she curled up on the couch with Queso. Mike was out at the gym so she was hoping that maybe when he got home they would do something together, so she was going to hang out and wait for him. A short time later there was a knock at the door.

"Well Queso, I guess we get to see what Colby has been bothering us with all week huh?" She said as she pet her cat then went up to get the door. She was surprised by how quickly the delivery got there after he called her. But when she opened the door, instead of seeing a delivery person at the door, she saw Colby.

"Surprise!"

"What are you doing here/' She asked shocked.

"We have a show in Chicago tomorrow so I flew in from Florida a day early."

Bridgette was still too surprised to say anything. He just walked in passed her and looked around. She was happy to see him, but she hadn't forgotten all of the issues that her running into him in Florida caused. He sat down on her couch next to Queso and started petting him.

"Hey buddy. Miss me?" He asked. Quest purred and laid down onto his lap. "Nice place. It's a bit bigger than the one you had in Iowa." He said finally snapping her out of her trance.

"Yeah, well I make more now. And we split the rent. But I'm not sure you can stay here."

"I hadn't planned on it That would be pretty rude to just show up and assume I'd stay here . I have a hotel nearby."

"That's not what I meant."

"So where's Mike? I was hoping that we could all go to dinner or something."

"He's at the gym. I'm not sure what time he's coming back."

"I could wait here and hang out with you until he gets back."

"That's probably not the best idea."

"Why not?" Colby asked raising an eyebrow.

"He has this thing about people coming over unannounced. He likes to be prepared for company.

"Okay. I guess I get that. Did you want to go out somewhere together until he gets home then we can meet up with him?"

"I don't think so. What if you go and do whatever you have to do and I call you when he gets back?"

Colby stood up feeling like something was off. This was a very different person than he had just spent the previous week with.

"Bridge, what's going on?"

She sighed. "It's just that, Mike is a little uncomfortable with our relationship."

Colby didn't mean to, but he laughed. "Seriously? He's uncomfortable with the fact that we live in different states, never see each other anymore, and only talk on the phone when our schedules allow? How insecure is he?"

"There's also the fact that you're a very nice looking man who a lot of women would want to be with. And he knows we're close. He's jealous like any normal person." She defended. "It might be a better idea you're not here and I break it to him. I don't want to fight with him anymore."

"You fought?"

"Yeah. When I got home. He saw the pictures you posted from when I was in Florida and thought I was lying to him about the trip and cheating on him." She said upset. Colby wasn't sure what to say. "I don't want him to come home and see you and get the wrong idea."

"Bridge, he doesn't hurt you or anything does he?" Colby asked worriedly.

"No, no. Nothing like that. Just argue like normal people and yell."

"Look, I don't want to get into your business, but it's not really healthy to argue about things like that in a relationship and have your partner trying to control who your friends are."

"I know. I know."

Just then the front door opened behind them.

"Hey babe. I'm back." Mike called out. "What are you doing here?" He asked when he say Colby.

"He just stopped by." Bridgette started to say.

"Mike? Colby. Nice to finally meet you." He took over stretching out his hand. "We have a show in Chicago to do so I thought I'd surprise you and take you and your girlfriend to dinner. I wasn't able to meet you at her mother's birthday, so I thought maybe we could all go out and get acquainted now." He said everything so easily and charming.. Just like a regular guy to a regular guy. Trying to make it seem like nothing was out of the ordinary. It wasn't but he seemed to think it was.

"Yeah, hi. Sorry I just wasn't expecting anyone to be here. Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

"Sorry, it was kind of a last minute decision and like I said, I wanted it to be a surprise when I thought of it. I hope I wasn't interrupting anything."

"We didn't have any plans for dinner tonight did we babe?" Mike asked Bridgette.

"No. I was going to see if you wanted to go out when you got home actually. I was waiting for you." She answered.

"Alright. Let me grab a shower and get changed real quick. There's a really good steakhouse downtown. We can meet up with you there."

"That's fine with me."

"Let's say 4 o clock?" Mike asked.

"Sounds good. I'll see you two there." Colby smiled then walked to the door. He wasn't really sure how he felt about Mike right now, but he had to put that aside and be nice in order to get to know him.

Bridgette was a little worried at how Mike was feeling right now, but was hopeful that maybe tonight would do them all some good. Mike could get to now Colby and realize that nothing was going on between them and back off. Who knows, maybe even he and Mike could end up becoming friends.

Around four that afternoon, Colby was sitting at the restaurant along with Jon who also arrived in a little early.

"I don't know. I just don't get a good feeling about this guy." Colby said as Jon took a sip of his beer.

"Are you sure it's not just because you're jealous?" Jon asked.

"Yes Jon, I'm sure. She's my friend. Just my friend. I'm just a little worried." Colby answered.

"Just checking." Jon stated. "Is he hurting her?"

"She said he wasn't/ But it's still not good to be with someone who tries to control everything. And he wouldn't even go to Florida to meet her mom. I just don't want her stuck in another bad situation. I mean, he doesn't even like her cat!"

Jon chuckled. "I'll feel him out when he gets here."

"If he shows up." Colby snorted.

Son after Bridgette and Mike arrived.

"Great. Another one." Mike mumbled when he saw Jon.

"Relax. That one doesn't even life me. I don't even want to tell you to be nice, but I feel like I have to." Bridgette whispered to him. "Jon! What are you doing here?"

"I heard you'd be here and I didn't want to miss an opportunity to annoy you." He answered with a smile.

"So you invited yourself again? Lovely. This is my boyfriend Mike. Mike, this is Colby's friend Jon,"

"Hey." He waved.

Mike and Bridgette joined Jon and Colby at the table sitting across from them.

"So how did you two lovebirds meet?" Jon asked.

"We met on our lunch break one day. We just started talking and he asked if I wanted to go out to dinner, and I said yes. Then we talked more and I guess we started liking each other." Bridgette said as she smiled looking at him.

Mike and Colby actually did a lot of talking to each other. It may have seemed like they were being friendly, but they were really just trying to feel each other out. Bridgette sat there allowing them to talk, trying not to interject fearing it would end up causing an argument.

"What's with you doll? You're not usually this quiet." Jon asked her quietly as Colby and Mike talked.

"I don't want to interrupt them. I'd like them to get to know each other and get along." She answered.

"You could talk to me."

"If I don't talk to you, you won't have anything to dislike me for."

"I could dislike you for ignoring me." He said smiling at her.

"Or you could leave my girlfriend alone since you're clearly bothering her." Mike jumped in abandoning his conversation with Colby after he heard Jon.

"Chill man. I was just joking with her." Jon defended.

"Yeah, it's nothing to really get upset over. They used to be like this all the time." Colby added.

"Neither of you need to be telling me how to handle my relationship." Mike shot at both of them.

"Mike, please calm down. It's not a big deal." Bridgette said softly.

"It is, I'm not going to let them run our relationship." He said facing her.

"Well I think she should at least have a say in your relationship." Jon sated pointing to Bridgette.

"You know I really don't like your attitude." Mike said to him.

"That makes two of us buddy." Jon said back to him.

"Okay, I'm done with this. I gave it a try, but I don't need to sit here and deal with you two jackasses."

"What the hell did I do?" Colby asked, almost sounding offended.

"My girlfriend maybe? Or at least you're trying to."

"Hey hey. I never once did that. I'm just her friend. I've had nothing but respect for your relationship. That's why I'm here right now!" Colby argued back.

"She doesn't need friends like you two in her life." Mike snapped.

"So I guess you don't want tickets for tomorrow nights show then?" Jon asked sounding serious although he was really just being condescending.

"This one time, you're right. And I'll be damned if I ever come anywhere near either of you again. I'm done with this. We're leaving."Mike ranted as he stood up.

"Is there a problem sir?" A worried waiter asked as he hurried over to the table.

"There is. Not with the restaurant though. Just the company. Don't worry though, me and my girlfriend are leaving Though unfortunately you'll be left with these two."

"Your girlfriend has a name. And she hasn't finished eating yet." Jon pointed out.

"She'll get something at home. Come on." He said as he grabbed her upper arm and tugging on it trying to pull her up.

"Would you like me to go get your check?" The waiter asked.

"No. He invited us out this mess. He can pay." Mike said very matter-of-factly then turned to leave.

Bridgette turned her head watching him leave then o back at Colby and Jon and hung her head. She mouthed 'I'm sorry' to them before turning and following Mike out.  
"Oh yeah. He's a winner." Jon commented before taking another sip of his beer.


	4. Chapter 4

Bridgette was at work the next morning sitting at her desk when her phone buzzed.

'So are you coming alone tonight or are you bringing a friend? I saved 2 tickets.'

'Cole, you know I can't come at all.' She replied.

'You're really not coming?'

'You saw him freak out last night. Do you really think leaving tonight to go would be a good idea?'

'Do you really think being with a man who gets that upset over nothing and grabs you is a good idea?'

She sighed in frustration. 'Cole, I'm at work. I can't do this right now. I'm sorry. Please thank Jon for sticking up for me last night.'

She put her phone down and ignored it for the rest of her day so she could focus on doing her job. She was distracted enough by how upset she was at how everything had gone down the night before. And she hated being in the middle of this Of course she couldn't just stop being friends with Cole again, but she wasn't ready to throw everything away with Mike.

"So what's the word?" Jon asked.

"She's not coming." Colby replied.

"Could've seen that coming." Jon stated as Colby was clearly annoyed. "Look man, you gotta see where she's coming from. She lives with the dude."

"Since when did you become so reasonable?"

"I dunno. Maybe you and Joe are rubbing off on me."

Bridgette didn't even dare to attempt to turn on the television to watch hat night. It was killing her that her best friend was so close and she wasn't able to be there with him or even watch him work. But she really needed Mike to calm down and give him some time before she brought this up again. She knew if she ever even wanted a chance for this to work, she was going to have to do this on his timeline. She'd be able to read him, and this was not the right time.

Mike and Bridgette were up early the next morning. Mike was getting ready to head off to work while Bridgette was finishing up the dishes from the night before. When he left she got a quick shower before getting ready herself. When she stepped out of the bathroom, she heard someone knocking on her door. They were very persistent and kept knocking, but since she only had a towel wrapped around her she didn't want to open it.

"Who is it?" She asked through the door.

"Colby." He answered.

She opened the door quickly. "What are you doing here?"

"I needed to talk to you. I saw him leave so I knew it as safe to come up." He said as he walked passed her into the apartment.

She shut the door behind him. "Colby I don't really have time right now I have to get ready for work."

"So do I. I need to be on the road within the hour." He replied.

"Then maybe you should go." She suggested.

"Not until we talk. Please don't tell me you're going to pick him over me." He started sounding very upset and worried. "I lost you once Bridge I don't want to lose you again."

"Cole calm down." She said reaching out to him. "I'm not picking anyone over anyone. I just need time to do what I have to do to get him to cool down so we can talk about it and try to smooth things over as best I can."

He looked into her eyes as she spoke and he knew she meant what she said. But he was still worried. She meant just as much to him now as she did back then and he didn't want to lose her, especially to someone who clearly had issues with her living her own life. And he knew if he lost her again that would be it. He hadn't actually noticed at first that she was just in a towel. He was so worried about getting his thoughts out it just didn't register. But he noticed when he looked over her and saw her bare arms and a bruise on one.

"What's this?" He asked as he held onto her arm.

"It's nothing." She said as she pulled her arm away.

"Did he do this? You said he wasn't hurting you! I swear I'm going to kill him."

"He's not. It's from the restaurant last night when he wanted me to leave. He was angry and didn't realize how tight he grabbed my arm." Bridgette said quickly trying to calm him down. "Please don't make a big deal about it."

"He's trying to keep you away from your friends, control what you do, and now this shit. And you want me to not make a big deal about it?" Colby asked raising his voice.

"Yes." She answered.

"Bridge."

"Just let me handle this okay. Trust me. I ca take care of myself. Just give me some time to try and fix this. I promise, you're not losing me." She said touching his cheek and giving him a smile. "Now get on the road before you end up being late and let me go get dressed because this is starting to get awkward." He let out a slightly nervous chuckle at her trying to make everything seem okay. "Drive safe and I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

He nodded then gave her a hug went went out on his way. Somehow Jon was right and he had to respect her wishes for a few days. He knew him trying to call her was just going to make her boyfriend madder if she was trying to smooth things over.

Unless it was someone from work, Bridgette's phone hadn't gone off in a few days. But one night she did receive a rather unsettling text from an unknown phone number.

'Sup bitch.'

She read it with her face scrunched up, thinking someone must have had the wrong number. She had decided to just let it go until she got another one after she hadn't replied.

'Stop ignoring me.'

'Excuse me?' She finally sent back.

'What's going on? Why is Colby moping around and threatening to kill people?'

'Who is this?'

'Your favorite person. I stole your number from his phone. Now what's going on. You said you weren't going to hurt him again.'

'Great. Now I get to hear from you all the time now huh?' Of course Jon would get into their business. He was very protective of his friends, and just as nosy and a shit stirrer. He would find some way to get involved.

'Answer the question.'

'Well you're very straight to the point. It's not what you think. I'm not pulling away from him and he knows that. We talked. We just need to lay low from each other for a bit because I'm going through issues with Mike. No thanks to you.'

'Your boyfriend is a dick.' Was all he replied.

'Yeah. Got that memo. Thanks.'

He didn't say anything to her after that. She waited a few more minutes debating with some thoughts through her head before finally texting him back and putting a plan into motion.

'Look. I have to go to Des Moines next week for work. I'm staying at a Holiday Inn. You can tell Colby he can stop by on his day off if he wants to.'

'Why can't you invite him?'

'Because I just now made the decision to tell you I would be there. Do you want him to stop moping or what?' She said being assertive.

'Okay, fine. I'll tell him.'

'Okay. And Jon?'

'What bitch?'

She rolled her eyes. Either he was very pissed off at her, or he liked to throw this nickname around.

'I don't know if Cole told you or not, so I will. Thanks for the other night.'

'Your boyfriend is a dick.' Again, that was all he replied.

"I know I know." She said to herself.

The next week Colby was walking through the lobby of a hotel heading for the elevator. He had gotten the room number Bridgette was staying in and went right up. He wasn't sure if she was actually in it right now or not, they hadn't agreed on a time. It was just a show up if you want to kind of thing. He knocked on her door and impatiently waited to see if she would answer. She opened the door and smiled, then walked back into the room just leaving the door open for him to walk in. He walked in after her shutting the door behind him. He was confused by her greeting at first until he walked in and looked around and saw a half empty bottle of wine on the floor at the bottom of the bed where Bridgette was sitting. She grabbed the bottle and took a drink.

"Bridge, are you okay?" He asked.

"He hates Queso."

"What?" Colby asked confused.

"Mike. He hates Queso. That's why he was with my co-worker. I was afraid to leave him home. When we moved in together her kept trying to get me to get rid of him. I refused. So we compromised by him saying the cat could stay but he gets to make all the decisions with the apartment. He's very particular and didn't want the cat to get in the way and mess things up." Bridgette explained then took another drink.

"And you just agreed to that?"

She shrugged. "Some people just aren't cat people. I just thought he didn't want cat hair on everything. But he's very particular about everything. He's always done everything his way and needs everything to be done his way or he freaks out."

"Sounds like you're dating a toddler."

She laughed. "It's usually not a problem. Most times it really doesn't matter to me so i just go with the flow. But sometimes I have to put my foot down and then he turns into an ass."

"Like with your cat?"

"Queso. Going to see my mom. You. He flips out like a child. Then if I don't give in he gets angry. I honestly thought if I left Queso at him he'd drop him off at a shelter and tell me he ran away."

"Why do you stay with him?"

"I really liked him, I wanted to make it work. But I'm not sure if I can do it anymore."

He walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. When he got closer he could see some bruises on her arms in the dim light.

"Bridgette…"

"He didn't hurt me. We were arguing and I walked away so he grabbed my arm. He never hit me. But I don't want it to get to that point."

Colby was having a hard time taking everything in. A few weeks ago she was with him and was this happy bubbly girl. He stood in front of her in a bikini and she looked perfect. Now she hung her head, had bruises on her, and seemed to be afraid to be herself. It was like any confidence that had been built up in her was slowly diminishing. She was so upset by all this she was drinking. She barely every even drank a glass of wine, let alone most of a bottle. He gently put his arm around her letting her know that he was there.

"Bridgette, if you need anything, or if there's any way I can help, let me know."

"Whatever it is?" Bridgette asked looking into his eyes.

"Anything. Just let me know." He replied.

He had expected her to ask him to take Queso for a bit. Or help her figure out how to leave Mike. But instead she leaned up into him and brought her lips to his. He was so shocked by her actions he just froze. She reached up and put her hand on his face and kissed him more passionately. He tasted the alcohol on her breath and that snapped him out of it. He pulled away from her.

"What are you doing?" He asked surprised.

"If he's going to keep accusing me of cheating I might as well do it." She replied and tried to lean into him again, but he leaned back.

"You're drunk." He stated.

"And a drunk mind speaks a sober heart."

"Nice try."

"I'm not drunk. I'm just buzzed. I only had a few sips."

"First of all, more than half of that bottle is empty. Second, you just told me your boyfriend mistreats you which makes me want to punch his face in. If you think I'm going to be okay with this and take advantage of you, you're crazy."

"You're not taking advantage of me! I know you would never do that. It's also not like I didn't know you were coming. You've always been able to make me feel better Cole. Make me feel safe. Right now I feel so messed up I just want to feel loved again."

"So you're using me?" He chuckled.

"Only slightly." She replied with a smile. His arm was still around her so she threw her leg over his la to straddle him. "Colby, if you can honestly tell me that you don't want this as much as I do right now, I'll back off and we can watch a movie or something."

He looked into her eyes, his arms now wrapped around his waist making sure she didn't fall. She was his best friend and he was so happy to have her back in his life he didn't want to do anything that could jeopardize their relationship. But he couldn't dent the attraction that had been growing towards her since they had gotten back in touch. He pushed it deep down inside of him never letting him out, and then she started dating someone so he hoped that would kill it, but the feelings were still there. As much as he tried to deny them, they were there.

"Honestly, I can't." He finally replied.

She smiled and leaned forward kissing him again . She pushed all her weight forward causing them to both fall back onto the bed. His arms fell down by y his sides near his head. She placed her hands on his wrapping their fingers together as she leaned over him.

"Aggressive much?"

"Are you complaining?" She asked smiling.

"Not at all. Just different."

"Lots of things have changed since last time Coley."

"They sure have."

She leaned down kissing him again and pushing her body around on his.

He spent the night in her hotel room. He awoke the next morning in the bed they shared to her running around and gathering things and pushing them into her suitcase.

"Good morning." He said as he sat up and stretched.

"Hey. Listen, I have to get out of here. I have an interview at nine so I need to run." She said as she shoved her phone into her purse and grabbed her suitcase. "You can stay here for a while if you want and relax. Check out is at eleven. I'll call you later."

She rushed out before he even really had time to say anything. She power walked down to the elevator hoping she would be able to get on it before he had a chance to get out of bed, put some pants on, and run after her. She got into the elevator violently pressing the 'door close' button. When the doors finally closed, she leaned her back against the wall resting her head on it as well.

"What have I done?" She asked herself.

She threw her bag in the trunk of her car and wiped away any feelings she was having and put her professional face on. She went to her interview, then to a press conference, then hung around for a bit to see if she could get any others pictures or interviews really quick. Her company would be really happy with anything extra she was able to bring back, but it did mean she had stayed longer than she had planned. When she finally got back into her car, she pulled out her phone and texted Mike that she was on her way back. She also figured she should text Colby too, he deserved that.

'Hey. I just got done. Took longer than I thought. I'm starting the drive back now so it'll be a few hours.'

She put her phone away without waiting for a reply from either of them. She wasn't upset at Colby at all, but upset at herself. She let her emotions get the better of her when she was vulnerable and God knows what she messed up in the process. She spent the next few weeks skating on a fine line between ignoring Colby and talking to him just enough so he didn't think anything was wrong. She was always "busy" or "in the middle of something" and she refused to let any conversation get anywhere near what happened that night. She also spent her time thinking about her relationship with Mike. She had realized that maybe this isn't what she wanted in her life right now. She was really disliking the person he was turning into with her, but she wasn't sure she was ready to flat out leave him just yet. The stress of everything had been getting to her. She had been also been overworking herself at her job just so she didn't have to think or be home and deal with everything. Even though Mike was being a jerk, she couldn't look at him right now knowing what she did to him. Between the stress, not eating properly, and the sleep she wasn't getting, it was starting to take a toll on her and she could feel herself getting sick. She was tired and achy and just felt like crap.

She was sitting alone in her apartment. Her and Mike were supposed to go out to dinner with some of his friends, but she convinced him to go alone. She just wasn't feeling good and wanted to was gathering up her wallet to run out to the drugstore real quick when her phone went off.

'Sup bitch?'

'What do you want?' She replied. This was the last thing she needed right now and couldn't deal with him.

'Whoa! What's with the pissy attitude?'

'You only text me when you're going to yell at me for something. So let's get this over with so I can run out. What'd I do now?'

'What do you think you did?'

She had two options. Tell him the truth and try to get out of him scolding her quickly, or play dumb and hope he didn't know and that's not the reason he was texting her. She went with the latter.

'Nothing I can think of.'

'Damn. I was hoping you'd tell me something juicy and I'd have something on you.'

She let out a sigh of relief. 'So what do you want then?'

'I just wanted to say hi. Check in.'

Weird. This whole thing was weird. She knew he was trying to accomplish something, she just didn't know what.

'Right now I feel like crap, thanks.'

'Why? Is it because your boyfriend's a dick?'

She rolled her eyes and chose to ignore his second question. 'I'm think I'm coming down with something. I don't feel right. I was just on my way out to get some soup and medicine.'

'Where's your boyfriend? Shouldn't he be there taking care of you?'

"He's out with some friends. Because I told him to go. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself.'

'If you say so doll face.'

'I do.

"Sweet dreams then. Feel better.'

'Thanks?'

Again, weird. Nothing seemed to have gotten accomplished in that small back and forth. Unless Colby asked him text her to see why she hadn't called, but Jon didn't even bring him up. It was almost like maybe he cared. She just shook her head and decided to figure it out later. She grabbed her keys and ran down the stairs outside her apartment building. She went down to the store and grabbed a few things she needed and walked back home. When she returned home, she went to the bathroom, made some tea, got changed into her comfortable clothes, and set up her blanket on the couch with her mug. She turned off the light so the only light was coming from the television. Before getting comfortable she headed back to the bathroom.

"Not again." She mumbled to herself.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning was the first time Bridgette had answered a phone call from Colby since they were together.

"Hello." She answered very sleepily followed by a yawn.

"Did I wake you?"

"Yeah. I wasn't feeling too good so I went to bed early and have just been knocked out ever since."

"Everything okay?" He asked concerned

"Yeah. They do say sleep is the best medicine." She said and yawned again.

"Good. Listen,um, we're going to be kind of near this week. I was hoping maybe we could get together. For lunch or something?" He asked nervously.;

"That actually sounds like a good idea. We probably need to talk." She agreed.

"Really? Great!" He said surprised. Based on how her recent actions towards him had been, he hadn't expected her to agree.

"Just let me know when so I can try and get the day off work. Usually my schedule can be pretty flexible."

"Okay. I'll look around the area and let you know." He replied.

"Okay. I'll talk to you then."

She hung up her phone and still laid down in bed. She was really nervous to see him. About as nervous as sh had been when she found out she was covering the event with him at the strawberry festival. So many thoughts had been going through her head, and each new one was making her more confused than the last. Every time she thought she had it all figured out of what she wanted to do, a curve ball was thrown at her.

They agreed on meeting up at a sports bar about an hour and a half from her. Colby figured maybe a nice laid back place would take some of the pressure off. Plus being out in public with other people wouldn't lead to anything too crazy. He was already there sitting at a table waiting when she arrived. When he saw her walking over, he stood up to greet her.

"Hey you." He said as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Hey." She smiled hugging him back,

They sat down and didn't speak much as they looked over the menu. She did surprise him though when she ended up ordering a crispy chicken salad instead of something she would normally get.

"Who are you and what have you done with Bridgette?" He joked.

"We don't all live at the gym Cole. Some of us actually have to eat healthy once in a while. She replied.

"Eh, al the time at the gym is worth it if it means I get to eat crap." He laughed.

They were both silent for a bit. Neither was really sure what to say or how to start.

"So. We should probably talk." He finally said.

"I guess you're right."

"You've been avoiding me." He stated straight away, though very calmly. Not as if he was angry at all.

"No I haven't." She disagreed.

"You've texted me once in a while, but have barely spoken with me, and refuse to bring up that night. Don't think I hadn't noticed that any time I tried to talk about it you found a way around it."

She wanted to disagree with him, but she couldn't. He was right. She just didn't want to admit it to him. She was just hoping that the small amount of communication she had going on with him would be enough to distract him. But apparently, it was not.

"There's been a lot going on in my head lately okay. I've been trying to deal with it." She told him.

"And you couldn't talk to me about it?" He asked.

"No. Pretty sure you would just make it more complicated." She answered. "Can we just forget about it?"

"No, we can't. I can't."

"Look Cole, I said a bunch of stuff to you that I really shouldn't have. I didn't mean to bring you that far into my business like that. And it's ended up causing a lot of arguments. And I cheated on my boyfriend. I have to live with that everyday. He might be rude sometimes, but he didn't deserve that. And I didn't just cheat, I slept with my best friend. I messed up royally and can't figure out how to fix it. I'm trying to figure out a way that won't hurt you and won't have me arguing with Mike but I can't." She admitted

"What does he have against me?" Colby asked.

"I don't know. Another guy in my life who is really close to me and seems to care about me. A guy who happens to be good looking and could have any girl he wanted? It's not exactly like his worries are unfounded."

"If I remember correctly, I didn't initiate anything. I've been nothing but respectful of your relationship with him. He's just being ridiculous."

Again, Colby was right. Mike had all these worries long before Bridgette got drunk and asked Colby to sleep with her.

"Do you regret it.?" He asked.

"That's a tough question. I really don't like what it's doing right now."

"But do you regret being with me?" He pushed.

"Do you?" She fired back.

"Absolutely not." He replied.

"Really? Even though you knew I had a boyfriend? You don't feel bad about that?"

"You didn't seem to mind it so why should I have? Besides, he doesn't deserve you anyway."

"Excuse me? And what gives you the right to say that?"

"Seriously? He tried to make you give up your pet, drop your friends, control everything, manipulate you into agreeing to let him control everything. And you think he deserves someone kind like you?"

She finally said it. "You're right."

She hadn't realized just how controlling Mike had been over both of their lives until Colby pointed it out. And his jealousy just kept growing and making it worse. Colby was happy that it seemed like she was finally starting to see all of this.

"Look. I would never let my feelings get in the way of your relationship. You have no idea how much I already put aside internally for him. But right now I'm saying this as your best friend who in concerned, you need to leave him."

"And go where? We live together, and his name is on the lease so I can't kick him out."

"Look for a new place." Colby suggested.

"So, what. I just stay living with Mike and pretend like everything is okay while I'm secretly looking for a new place to live behind his back?" She asked sarcastically.

"Yes." He said with a straight face.

"Do you have any idea how crazy that sounds?"

"Saner than staying with someone who makes you miserable. You know you are actually allowed to make decisions with your own life that make you happy."

"I really don't think I can do this right now."

"It doesn't all have to be right now. It can be in steps. First step is making the decision." She was silent, as if she was really thinking and contemplating everything he was saying to her. "Can we talk about us now?"

"What about us?"

"Am I just supposed to forget that we slept together? Again?"

She ran her hand through her hair. "I keep trying to pretend that nothing happened, but I can't."

"Maybe you shouldn't."

"Wait a minute. Do you want to talk about what you meant by putting things aside for Mike?" She question.

"If you want me to be honest."

Bridgette had partially expected him to try and dance around that just as she ha been doing lately, but he didn't. He wanted to get everything out. "Okay." She replied almost afraid.

"When we first started hanging out again, we were friends, and that was it. But after spending more time together, I really started falling for you. Just like I did back then. I tried really hard to ignore the feelings and make them go away, but I couldn't. The more time we spent together, the more fun we had, the farther I fell. I was actually going to try and tell you the night we hung out and you told me that you started seeing someone, but you were so excited so I didn't. I just wanted to see you happy. I should have turned you away a few weeks ago, but you seemed so sure and I couldn't hold back anymore. Especially after meeting Mike and seeing what an ass he was I knew you deserved better." He admitted.

"Wow." She said trying to take everything in. "And you thought better was you?"

"Well, I like your cat." He said with a smile. As he reached across the table and held her hand. "I never meant to feel this way. I didn't think I would after all this time, but I do. But I didn't let it stand in the way of you being happy. But now that we're here now, I want to be completely honest."

"Cole, I don't know if I can do this. We live in different states, you travel all the time, my schedule isn't always set." She started rambling.

"Hey slow down. One step at a time remember? You have to get out of the relationship you're in first." He said as he rubbed his thumb along her hand. "Until you do that, we'll just stay friends."

"So what now?"

"You start looking for a few place. Later this afternoon start searching online."

"How do you make all of this seem so easy?"

"Everything is easier with people you love by your side." He said with a caring smile.

She smiled back at him. There was something that she was debating on telling him. She thought about it the whole ride over to the restaurant but still hadn't made up her mind But since He was so honest with her, she thought she should be with him as well. She was about to start talking when her phone rang. She took kit out and saw that it was Mike. She just ignored it and set it down on the table.

"There's something I wanted to talk to you about too actually." Her phone started ringing again as he was calling her back. "Hang on, he doesn't usually do this. Let me just take this real quick." She said to Colby. He leaned back in his chair and stayed quiet. "Hello. I'm just out having lunch with a friend. Is everything okay?...What happened?...Okay I'll be there as soon as I can." She hung up the phone and looked at Colby. "I'm sorry, I have to go. He said there was a medical emergency."

She shoved her phone back into her purse and went to stand up.

"Is everything okay?" Colby asked.

"He didn't really say. He just said it was an emergency and I needed to come home right away." Bridgette answered.

"Are you sure he's serious and not just trying to get you to come home?"

"He's never done anything like this before. I don't think he'd be one to play around with stuff like this." Bridgette answered honestly.

"Okay, well drive carefully and let me know if you need anything."

"I will. Thanks Cole." She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek before taking off.

He wanted to tell her to blow him off, but he was again trying to be respectful. They were still a couple. And if it really was a medical emergency he couldn't very well stand in the way of that. At least he got everything off of his chest and she didn't get scared and run off. So he just held onto that.

Bridgette tried to get home as fast as she could. She didn't know what was wrong or who it involved. She was worried the whole drive. She rushed up the stairs to her apartment and threw the door open calling for Mike once she got there.

"In here." He called from the bedroom.

She jogged over to the room. "What's going on?" She asked as she stood in the doorway. He was sitting down on their bed.  
"I was doing some cleaning today and went to take the trash in the bathroom out. Care to explain this?"


	6. Chapter 6

Early the next morning Mike had left for work and Bridgette wa still in bed. She knew she should go back to work today, but there were also still a few unresolved things from yesterday, so she called out making some excuse about her still feeling hanging up the phone with them she tried to call Colby, but he didn't answer. So she sent him a text hoping he would see it soon.

'Hey, are you still in the area? I was hoping we could finish our conversation from yesterday.'

She placed her phone back down on her nightstand and got up to get changed. She wasn't sure if he'd get that anytime soon. For all she knew he was already gone and that's why he hadn't answered. She was pacing as sh got ready, very nervously. She ran to her phone a few minutes later when she heard it going off hoping it would be Colby.

'Absolutely. Want to meet by the pier? Get some fresh air? What time can you be here?'

'I'll leave now. About an hour and a half. Maybe an hour if I speed.'

'Don't do that. Take your time. I'll be waiting.'

She grabbed her keys and went down to her car starting on the same drive she took yesterday. She kept rehearsing everything in her head over and over, trying to figure out what she should say and make sure everything came out right. That somehow made the drive seem like it was a lot quicker. After she got out of the car, she put her hair up into a pony tale and texted Colby letting him know she was there. She walked over towards a railing near one of the docks and looked out over the ocean while she waited for him.

"You still contagious?" She heard a voice ask from behind her.

She turned around. "Oh hey Jon. What are you doing here?"

"Just out for a walk. What are you doing here?" He asked walking over to her.

"I'm waiting for Colby. We were supposed to get together. I told him I was here a little while ago but I haven't heard back."

"Yeah about that. He doesn't know you're here."

"What?"

"He was busy and left his phone in the locker room. I heard it ring, then I heard a text, and I saw it was you so I answered." He admitted.

"Why would you do that?" Bridgette asked upset.

"Curious? Nosey? It sounded interesting."

"Seriously Jon, what the hell is wrong with you?" Bridgette said to him, more of a statement then a question.

"You breaking up with him?" Jon asked.

"You need to be in a relationship with someone before you can break up with them." She replied then turned away from him, leaning her arms onto the railing looking at the water.

"Interesting answer. I never said anything about Colby, could've been talking about Mike. So that means something's going on."

Bridgette sighed. "Jon this isn't really any of your business."

"So are you dumping dickface?"

"Jon...this is really something I need to talk with Colby about. I would hope that you could understand that."

"I swear to God if you end up breaking his heart again I'm going to make your life a living tell because that's what he's going to end up making mine."

"I don't want to. I'm just not sure i can do what he thinks I should do." She replied.

"Which was?"

"Leaving Mike, getting my own place, and being with him."

"Why not? Sounds pretty simple to me." Jon said matter-of-factly.

"It's not."

"What could have changed so much between yesterday and today?"

She looked over at him. "I'm pregnant."

Jon looked stunned. He leaned against the raining next to her not quite sure what to say, which was a first. Bridgette was surprised herself. Not that she had told Jon before anyone else, but just because she had said it out loud.

"Well then. I supposed that could complicate things a little bit." Jon finally said.

"I wasn't even sure what I was going to do about it yet, but Mike found the pregnancy test last night. He was kind of pissed. And scared. Ranted to me for hours on how we couldn't do this right now and it didn't fit into our lives and we weren't ready for this. I honestly wasn't sure if I could even handle this right now, but he's trying to make the decision because he thinks it's his and I really don't think he should have any influence on it."

Jon was nodding along listening, then stopped. "Wait. It's not his?"

She just shook her head with some tears forming in her eyes.

"Hey!"They both heard another voice call out to them. They turned to see Colby walking towards them. "Jon, do you want to explain to me why I apparently have meeting set up with Bridgette today that I knew nothing about?"

"Someone must have gotten a hold of your phone I keep telling you you shouldn't leave it lying around." He suggested.

"And you just happened to be out here when she was here? And why is she crying? What the hell did you do?"

"Well on that note, now that you're here, I think I'll go off and finish my walk and leave you two alone." He said as he slowly started to back away. "Bye bitch.  
'"Hey!" Colby yelled angrily after him.

"Relax. It's a term of endearment." Jon yelled back as he kept walking.

"Cole, he didn't do anything. Really." Bridgette said softly trying to calm him down.

"What is going on?" He asked.

"I was waiting for you and he came by so we were just talking."

"I didn't even know you were supposed to be here"!

"Well I thought you did. Anyway that's not the point right now. I have to talk to you about something."

'What's up? Did you find a place already?" He asked with a smile.

"No. I'm pregnant."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I'm...pregnant." Bridgette said again.

"That is what I thought I heard." He said then took a short pause. "How does Mike feel about it?"

She was surprised out of everything he could have asked, that's what he chose.

"He's not too happy."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Right now, I don't know what I'm doing. I don't even know if I want to have it."

"What? Why?"

"What if something happens and I lose it again? Last time it sucked but it was a blessing in disguise. I don't think I can go through that again. It would be better if I got to make the decision and not something else. And make it before I get too...attached." She said in a hurtful tone.

"Bridge, it doesn't really sound like you want to do that. You know if you want this baby you're allowed to keep it."

"Not like this. Not in a big complicated mess where I'm messing up people's lives."

"The only person's life you're complicating is Mike's. But you don't need him or his approval to do this."

"You're right. I need yours."

"Come again?"

"Your life is the one I'm worried about complicating. You're the one who I don't think is ready for this. Or might not even want this."

"Bridge...are you sure?" He asked dumbfounded.

"Yes."

"Like, one hundred percent sure?"

"I know who I slept with and when Colby."

"Then why does he think it's his."

"Maybe because we're in a relationship and have slept together and he didn't know that I slept with anyone else? And he doesn't know how far along I am, so it all makes sense to him." Bridgette suggested. "He has no reason to not think it's his."

"I guess you're right. But the bottom line is it isn't his. So don't let him make the decision for you."

"So what am I supposed ro do?"

"Whatever it is you really want to do." He told her.

"Oh nothing too big. Just to have the baby and be together happily with the father and have an amazing family that I could have only ever dreamed out. End up in a nice house instead of a cramped apartment for the baby and my cat. Be able to not have to struggle about child care if I keep it. Cook on the grill in the backyard while the kids play with their friends. You know all that happy fairy tale shit that's never been a part of my life."

Colby chuckled. "Is that all?" She just stared at him. "Why was that not one of your options to begin with?"

"What? You mean to come to you after one night together where I was drunk and pushed it and ended up getting knocked up telling you to all of the sudden take me in and raise this baby with me when you've never once mentioned wanting kids. Not to mention taking away all of your freedom and alone time."

"Listen, you're right about the kids. I never really thought about having them. Not even because I was on the road a lot. That was always very important to me and honestly, I never thought I would find someone I'd want to settle down with and have a family. I just always thought I'd be on my own, dating here and there. But then I found you. I've cared about you more than anyone else I've ever been with. I could see myself doing just about everything with you and never needing a break. It was killing me that you were with someone else, but like I said, I just wanted you to be happy. If you want my honest opinion, have the baby, and I'll be there. I'm sure I'll love him or her just as much as I love you. Come back home with me, let's do this together. Let me be the one who makes you happy." Seth said to her as he took her hands. "If this is what you really want, please don't get rid of it just because you're worried about complicating my life."

"What am I supposed to do about work?"

"I actually know of a few job openings in the area coming up. Not exactly what you're doing now, but some of it is. And some of it will let you work from home if you wanted to stay there with the baby."

Bridgette just started crying and fell into his chest. She thought when she got pregnant again her life would be over. Never could she have imagined that he would want to be with her and raise the baby together. She wouldn't allow herself to think that the feelings she felt for him were more than a close friend that she loved, but they were so much more. And since he never showed any interest in her that way. She never said anything and tried to move forward with her life and date other people. When she was with Colby, she felt safe, loved, comfortable. They had fun, they laughed, they helped each other. He was everything she never had. She really couldn't believe that he was okay with all of this.

"So just like that, I pack up everything, quit my job, leave my boyfriend, and move back to Davenport and move in with you?" She asked after she calmed down.

"Pretty much, yeah. Usually I would say it's way too early in the relationship to move in together, but I think in this case I can make an exception." He smiled with her arms still wrapped around her.

"How do you do this? How do you make everything seem to simple?"  
"I told you. Everything is easier with someone you love by your side."

She rested her head against his chest once again and he began to stroke her hair. Suddenly they heard someone clear their throat behind them. Colby turned his head and Bridgette looked up to see who it was.

"So uh, when do we dump dipshit?"

Apparently, Jon hadn't gone too far away. Bridgette laughed at his comment and Colby reached up and playfully pushed him away.

"That's going to be more difficult than I want it to be." Bridgette admitted.

"Why? We'll show up with you. He won't do anything." Jon said.

"Right. Because if I go home and show up with him, start packing my stuff, dump him and tell him the baby isn't his, he'll be totally fine with that. He won't freak out at all."

"He'll be cool or I'll smash his face in." Jon stated.

"Jon that would actually make everything worse." Bridgette told him. "And why do you want to help all of the sudden?" She asked as she pulled away from Colby's embrace.

"Maybe I just don't think women should be treated the way he treats you." Jon answered putting his hands in his pockets.

"Uh huh. And what about all the times you texted me?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Colby asked.

"He yelled at me a lot." Bridgette told him.

"Okay, so maybe you grew on me a little here bitch." He said as he pulled Bridgette in for a hug. She laughed at his embrace.

"And here I thought all this time you hated me.

"Nah. Not the entire time.: He joked.

"Okay later, me and you are going to talk about you stalking my girlfriend. But for now we need to figure out what to do." Colby stated.


	7. Chapter 7

The break up went about as well, or not well, as Bridgette expected. He had tried to convince her they could work it out and all she had to do was get rid of the baby and they could be together, But that wasn't her plan. She told him she was keeping it. And upon finding out it actually wasn't his, he had called her every horrible insulting name in the book. Bridgette started to get upset because deep down she knew he was right. She went behind his back and did this. But shortly after Colby and Jon showed up to help her pack her things. That didn't sit too well with Mike, but they put him in his place so she could gather her things. The job was much easier to leave. She was able to leave them on good seemed to understand she wanted to move with the father of her child.

Colby wasn't lying about knowing about some job openings. He as opening his own wrestling school and coffee shop. They were attached to each other, to cut down on even more travel time. When he started they were his only two passions and he wanted to pursue them. But now that things were going to be moving along, he would need someone to advertise, someone to help with the books while he was away, someone to take pictures and video and everything. Bridgette would be perfect. She could look after everything while he was away. And most she would be able to do from home as he said. Now it was more than just his passion, he had family businesses.

The next few months flew by. Between her moving in and working at a new place and him getting everything together, before they knew it their little bundle of joy was ready to arrive. Colby was by her side the whole time, encouraging her and cheering her own. He couldn't believe this moment was happening. At first in general, but then by a woman he truly loved. He stood next to her and watched his child be born never leaving her side. The second he saw her, he fell in love all over again. She appeared to have the same big brown eyes that he did. And it made him look at his best friend in a whole new light.

Colby had left a few hours later to go to the hospital cafeteria to get something to eat for himself since it had been well over twenty four hours since he had.

"How are my favorite girls?" He asked as he came back into her room.

"I'm telling your mom you said that." Bridgette said with a smile a she sat up in the bed and was holding her new baby wrapped up in a blanket.

Colby walked over next to her and smiled down at his daughter. "I think she'll understand."

"You know she still needs a name." Bridgette reminded him. They had talked about it a little bit but never really were able to settle on anything.

Colby brushed a finger along the baby's cheek. "What about London?"

"Are you serious or are you joking?"

"I'm serious."

London had been the childhood nickname that he called her. He would always follow her around singing London Bridge. Most times he did it to bother her, but sometimes she liked it. He was the only one to ever call her that.

"It is kind of a beautiful name. As long as you're not as annoying about it with her as you were with me."

He just chucked and and gently took the baby from her arms. Bridgette watched him as he walked around the room smiling and humming down at her. He was going to be a great father. She didn't understand how he could ever think otherwise. He was already such a sweet caring person. And he looked down at that baby like it was his whole world. It was a beautiful moment, until the door to the hospital room burst open.

"What's up familia!" Jon called out holding a bunch of pink balloons.

The baby began to cry as Colby tried to rock her and calm her down. Bridgette sighed.

"Hi Jon." Bridgette greeted. "Cole, you're going to have to teach your friend about inside voices." She joked.

**Hope you all enjoyed!**


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